Taunton man convicted of raping young neighbor, sentenced to prison in Fall River court

A 48-year-old Taunton man who was convicted of raping his pre-teen neighbor at trial earlier this month was sentenced today in Fall River Superior Court to serve 15 to 20 years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

According to Gregg Miliote of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Peter White was convicted of rape of a child and aggravated statutory rape by a jury of his peers on August 22 after a two-week trial. The rapes occurred in Taunton between September of 2013 and May of 2017.

The defendant was a stay at home dad who watched his three children during the day. Between 2013 and 2017, the victim and her siblings would routinely play at the defendant’s house with the defendant’s children. While at the defendant’s home, the victim would play “games” with the defendant, which were designed to sexually assault her.

All of the assaults occurred in the defendant’s bedroom. During trial, the defendant’s wife testified to the fact that the defendant changed the lock from a bathroom door and installed it on their bedroom door. She also testified that on at least one occasion, the defendant was in the bedroom with the victim with the door locked, and said it took the defendant a long time to come to the door and unlock it when she knocked. One of the victim’s siblings also testified there were multiple times when the defendant and the victim were in the bedroom with the door locked.

The victim herself also testified at trial about the assaults she endured and explained that she did not immediately disclose the abuse because she was afraid she would get in trouble.

During the trial, prosecutors also introduced evidence from the defendant’s laptop computer which demonstrated the defendant’s infatuation with the victim. Specifically, the defendant made journal entries specifically about the victim and downloaded photos of her off of the victim’s mother’s Facebook page.

The case was prosecuted by Second Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Friedel, who argued for a 18 to 22 year state prison sentence to be followed by seven years of supervised probation. The defense, however, recommended a more lenient 10 year state prison term.

Judge Karen Green today sentenced White to serve 15 to 20 years in state prison to be followed by seven years of supervised probation.

“The defendant abused his position of trust by sexually assaulting a young girl over an extended period of time. He took away her innocence when she should have been having fun as a child,” District Attorney Quinn said. “This reprehensible behavior caused the victim and her family extreme emotional stress. The sentence imposed by the court was well deserved and I hope the victim and her family can move forward with their lives.”